2 Baby Giraffes Went Missing From A Virginia Zoo. The Feds Say A Double-crossing Informant Helped Keep Them Hidden

A brace of baby giraffes that vanished past twelvemonth from a notorious roadside zoo successful Virginia were hidden from authorities pinch nan thief of a national informant who allegedly double-crossed investigators by sharing delicate intel astir nan investigation pinch 1 of nan premier suspects, according to a hunt warrant exertion obtained by The Independent.

The 35-page affidavit reveals a slew of antecedently unreported specifications astir nan hopeless hunt for nan newborns, which went missing from nan Natural Bridge Zoo successful April 2025 and prompted character and animal use advocator Alicia Silverstone to connection a $50,000 reward for their return.

In nan affidavit, a typical supplier pinch nan U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service describes trying to way down nan 2 giraffe calves while Patrick Robinson, a Tennessee animal handler turned authorities snitch, purportedly helped undermine nan investigation he was expected to beryllium supporting.

The feds opportunity Robinson hamstrung agents looking for nan giraffes erstwhile he collapsed a written statement not to divulge immoderate accusation he gleaned astir cases he was asked to collaborate on, allegedly telling a Natural Bridge Zoo insider astir planned operations by rule enforcement that progressive nan missing animals. He besides shared backstage messages betwixt him and his FWS contact, and participated successful astatine slightest 1 speech astir moving nan giraffes successful concealed to support from being found.

Reached by telephone connected Wednesday, Robinson confirmed his engagement successful nan lawsuit and told The Independent, “I was a confidential informant, truthful I don't cognize really that goes pinch my statement pinch them. I was successful it from nan crushed up, but I don't cognize what I tin remark connected and what I can’t remark on.”

Robinson’s activity arsenic a national informant began successful 2022, according to nan affidavit, Robinson approached FWS agents successful Texas pinch “information related to” nan Big Cat Public Safety Act, a national rule enacted that aforesaid twelvemonth restricting backstage ownership and nan nationalist show of lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cougars and cheetahs.

The pursuing year, FWS Special Agent LaGesse was assigned to beryllium nan main constituent of interaction for Robinson, who nan affidavit says “claimed to beryllium knowledgeable connected individuals who were violating nan Lacey Act and nan Animal Welfare Act.”

The Lacey Act is simply a national conservation rule passed successful 1900 that restricts nan waste and carrier of protected wildlife and plants.

“My first discussions pinch Robinson focused connected individuals who were illegally transferring primates passim nan United States,” La Gesse wrote successful nan affidavit.

On September 11, 2023, Robinson signed a “Cooperating Private Individual Agreement” pinch FWS, affidavit, which was revenge nether seal past February. In nan agreement, Robinson swore to “always supply truthful and complete information,” and promised not to “divulge orally aliases successful penning immoderate accusation related to this investigation unless authorized to do so.”

Around this time, nan Natural Bridge Zoo was coming nether scrutiny amid a state-level investigation into filthy conditions and animal neglect. On December 6, 2023, nan Virginia Attorney General’s Office seized astir 100 animals from nan zoo, including 4 big giraffes, 1 antheral and 3 female. But, nan affidavit says, nan AG’s agency didn’t person nan specialized instrumentality basal to carrier nan giraffes, truthful they remained astatine nan zoo until due arrangements could beryllium made.

That October, aft a play of ineligible wrangling, a last tribunal bid was entered allowing nan region to retrieve nan 3 giraffes, 2 of which were now pregnant.

Since nan duo had entered their 3rd trimester of pregnancy, nan affidavit says nan county’s experts and veterinarians recommended they not beryllium moved until they birthed their calves. On April 8. 2025, a criminal interrogator pinch nan AG’s office, a Virginia authorities trooper, and a veterinarian paid an unannounced sojourn to Natural Bridge Zoo, and discovered that some giraffes had already fixed birth. However, nan affidavit states, nan 2 newborns were obscurity to beryllium found.

Shortly aft nan babe giraffes disappeared, LaGesse met pinch Robinson successful nan parking batch of a Morrison, Tennessee, barbecue edifice to cheque successful and renew their practice agreement, according to nan affidavit.

“I past proceeded to talk various ongoing investigations pinch Robinson and imaginable adjacent steps,” it continues. “Notably, I asked Robinson if he had immoderate caller accusation regarding nan brace of giraffes missing from nan Natural Bridge Zoo. Robinson inquired, ‘Have y’all still not recovered them?’ and past stated he did not person immoderate caller information.”

Robinson had already told LaGesse that he had been contacted by Sondra Scott, a paralegal, U.S. Army veteran, and “self-described advisor” to nan Natural Bridge Zoo who runs an statement called Two By Two 4U, which touts its “track grounds of unparalleled occurrence successful navigating challenges posed by nan USDA and animal authorities activists.” and showed him constricted screenshots of a matter concatenation during which she asked if he had “a spot for giraffes,” according to nan affidavit.

However, it alleges, erstwhile LaGesse asked to return a look astatine nan remainder of nan messages, Robinson’s reside seemed to shift.

“I asked Robinson if I could spot his telephone to reappraisal nan conversation, which was a regular believe that Robinson had agreed to connected erstwhile occasions,” nan affidavit states. “... Robinson agreed and opened his telephone to find nan conversation.”

Robinson typed nan connection “giraffe” successful nan hunt barroom of his iMessage app, located nan pertinent matter messages, and handed nan telephone to LaGesse, according to nan affidavit.

“As I was reviewing nan phone, Robinson often interrupted maine and asked, ‘What's that a image of? What are you looking at?’” nan affidavit alleges. “After repeated inquiries, I asked Robinson what nan problem was, and [he] stated, ‘There’s worldly connected location I don’t want you to see.’”

Robinson told LaGesse that Scott “had sent him sexually definitive photographs,” nan affidavit states. The supplier responded that he “was not concerned pinch his individual life,” but that he was “just trying to get much discourse regarding nan giraffes.”

LaGesse kept reading, until a bid of screenshots that Robinson had sent to Scott caught his eye, according to nan affidavit.

“The first image was a screenshot of a matter connection speech pinch nan interaction listed arsenic ‘USF&W,’” it says. “I past recognized nan matter arsenic 1 I had antecedently sent Robinson.”

In nan connection string, Robinson asked LaGesse astir backing for upcoming operations, and if he should make interaction pinch Scott erstwhile he saw her astatine an upcoming exotic animal waste successful Madison, Florida. LaGesse responded that his fund was constricted astatine nan moment, but told Robinson to “definitely talk to [Scott] adjacent week truthful we tin get a scheme together,” nan affidavit states.

“When I asked Robinson why he shared our speech pinch Scott,” nan affidavit says he “got upset, grabbed his telephone from my hand, and exited nan vehicle.”

Scott astatine nan clip was an “active target” of aggregate wildlife trafficking cases, and, according to nan affidavit, LaGesse feared he had exposed “detailed imaginable investigative steps circumstantial to Scott and galore different targets.”

Anything that Robinson whitethorn person divulged “severely undermines, obstructs, and impedes those investigations,” while helping Scott “avoid discovery and prosecution” for Lacey Act violations, according to nan affidavit.

Scott had already raised eyebrows during litigation involving Natural Bridge Zoo and accusations of animal mistreatment, encouraging supporters to “stalk” family members of nan squad that removed nan animals connected behalf of nan authorities and “engag[ing] successful sanction calling and made mendacious allegations directed towards nan court” connected societal media, nan affidavit says.

On April 28, 2025, a judge granted LaGesse entree to Robinson’s telephone records and iCloud account, successful a hunt for “evidence of wildlife trafficking, ongoing criminal investigations, impersonating a authorities official, and conspiracy,” according to nan affidavit.

In a photograph folder, LaGesse recovered screenshots of a “fabricated conversation” betwixt Robinson and LaGesse’s leader astatine FWS, which nan affidavit says made it look arsenic though Robinson, while posing arsenic an FWS higher-up, had been bribing FWS brass. LaGesse besides discovered a voicemail from Scott to Robinson, saying, “Hey, um… we request to spell up and get a scheme successful action to move nan babe G’s… truthful telephone maine erstwhile you can.”

Months went by, and nan babe giraffes remained missing. In November 2025, Natural Bridge Zoo Owner Gretchen Mogensen, 42, was jailed for 100 days after refusing to divulge nan location of nan giraffes aliases manus them over. (Scott astatine 1 constituent besides faced a contempt charge, which was later dropped.)

As February 2026 rolled around, Mogensen and her parents – who co-owned nan zoo – on pinch a veterinarian and an elephant trainer who worked there, were charged pinch a full of 55 misdemeanor counts of torturing, overdriving aliases cruelty to animals, and 8 felony counts of forgery of a nationalist record.

On June 15, aft searching for much than a year, nan Virginia AG’s Office announced nan 2 babe giraffes had finally been located and rehomed astatine a safari parkland successful Georgia. It remains unclear wherever they had been, aliases really they were yet found.

In a property release, nan AG’s agency said, “Due to nan ongoing criminal investigation, nary further specifications tin beryllium released astatine this time.”

Robinson has not been charged pinch a crime, according to a reappraisal of national tribunal records. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for prosecutors overseeing nan investigation told The Independent, “It is simply a argumentation of nan U.S. Attorney’s Office to neither confirm, nor deny, nor talk nan position of immoderate pending investigation.”

The Mogensens’ trial, nan first of three, is set to statesman successful February 2027.